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Cleaning Records

I have a rather small record collection made up of about 25% new records, 25% old albums that I've purchased from local shops, and 50% old albums of my dad's that have been sitting in the garage for a good 10 years.
As far as cleaning goes, I guess the obvious part is buying a carbon-fiber brush to dust them off before each play, but I'm lost as to what I should do to REALLY clean them. I only spent about $400 on my turntable, so buying a VPI record cleaner used for $800 doesn't seem right for me right now. Are there any cleaners that do a comprabale job for under $100 if possible, possibly $200. How should I go about cleaning without a cleaning machine? People have talked about washing their records. Does this process actually include holding the record in the sink and pouring deionized water over it? How would I clean it?
If I were to clean it with a cloth, would I move around the record in circles as opposed to moving from the label outward? I've seen a lot of "record-cleaning solutions". How does one use these? Just mix it in water and pour it on the record? Wouldn't it harm the record to actually apply force to it when "scrubbing"?
I found a bottle of D4 that I bought a while ago. Should I use it? And if yes, do I dillute it in water first?
I'm obviously very new to all of this, and I would appreciate any help.
boxingnun
eldartford
4,262 posts
 
4yanx....Relax!...In a casual way I complement you on the comprehensive writeup about cleaning records. If you enjoy cleaning records that's OK with me. People with antique cars spend more time polishing them than driving.

Does music exist to serve as a test signal for audio equipment, or does audio equipment exist to convey music? Can we agree to disagree?

Have you or anyone else considered a mail-order record cleaning service for lazy blokes like me. It seems that you have the equipment, experience and enthusiasm for such an enterprise.
marakanetz's avatar
marakanetz
5,473 posts
 
If I went through 4yanx steps I would spend a full calendar year to clean my vinyl collection only with sleap and eat breaks.

If a record qualify for "STEP ONE" I simply ignore taking care of this record and look for replacement.

Otherwise it takes me less than a minute to clean it.
jyprez's avatar
jyprez
241 posts
 
4yanx ... excellent post on cleaning. If you ever decide to sell some of those well cleaned, used records let me know. BTW what do you listen to (Jazz, Classical, Rock?)
I am planning on building my own record vac using my shop vac and some of your ideas.
boxingnun OP
10 posts
 
There were a few responses in which people described or put links to "building your own record cleaner". Has anyone who has done this seen good results? It seems like the concept behind a VPI cleaner is fairly simple. It's basically a turntable with a vacuum stuck to it. I've narrowed down my options to building my own, buying a used VPI 16.5 , or a Nitty Gritty 1.0. Also, thanks for all the responses--they helped me (and probably others) a lot. Especially 4yanx. My mom has been asking me why I spend so much time on vinyl, so I explained your routine to her, and that put it in perspective.
shersta
140 posts
 
Let me cast another vote for the Disc Doctor products. My budget for stereo stuff is very limited and I've tried a number of low budget solutions to lp cleaning (orbitrac, diy cleaners, etc.) I've found the DD stuff to be the best for the money. You could get a qt. of the DD stuff, some new vrp sleeves and a carbon fiber brush for around $100. I use an old tt as a cleaning station. I apply the DD solultion with the supplied brushes, clean off with toilet paper, apply distilled water, vacuum mostly dry*. and allow to completely air dry in a dish rack.
*I bought an extra wand for my wet/dry vac, blocked off the end, cut a slit in it, and attached felt to the contact surfaces--works great. Feel free to email me if you have any further questions.
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